On the march to Aerie Peak, Dal'rend Blackhand was exceptionally furious. He cursed the Dragonmaw Clan warlocks for being useless, and was also furious that the red dragons in the Horde camp had been tampered with.
Gul'dan had already left the Horde camp, and there were no additional warlocks to provide proper control over these dragons. The situation was urgent, and Dal'rend had no choice but to abandon the red dragons and lead only his orc soldiers to attack Aerie Peak.
Last time, it was Dal'rend who attacked Aerie Peak. However, he suffered greatly from the counterattacks of the dwarven gryphon riders and musketeers. But this time was different; the Hinterlands weather was a great help.
Dal'rend had reason to believe that the gryphon riders would be slowed by the storm, and their muskets would certainly misfire due to the dampness!
Dal'rend's thirst for revenge led to a rapid advance of his army. Nearly three thousand orcs marched in a mighty force towards Aerie Peak.
Meanwhile, enhanced by swiftness spells, Leylin and Khadgar swiftly traversed the deciduous forests at the foot of Aerie Peak. Their speed was greater, allowing them to reach Aerie Peak before the orcish army began its assault.
Leylin and Khadgar arrived at Aerie Peak in the early hours of the following day. They entered the massive stone gates of Aerie Peak and joined forces with the Wildhammer dwarves and elven troops.
At the same time, Dal'rend Blackhand's orc soldiers arrived at the foot of Aerie Peak and began their ascent.
"Commander Lothar has replied to our scouts; they are rushing to our aid. All we need to do now is defend," Kurdran Wildhammer said with a sigh of relief.
Falstad Wildhammer was secretly relieved, but a slight unease lingered. He knew the state of the battlefield ahead. Sir Lothar's decision to abandon the main offensive and instead aid them filled him with shame.
The Wildhammer dwarves had been a hindrance to the Alliance in this battle. Compared to Kurdran, who only knew how to fight, Falstad clearly had more to consider. Especially with two outstanding human mages present in the meeting room.
"Praise be to our ancestors, thank you for your aid. In gratitude, I hope our Wildhammer tribe can join the human alliance to fight against these orcish tribes!" the Wildhammer dwarf Chief Thane said to Leylin and Khadgar.
Khadgar and Leylin held no real power; they exchanged glances, but Chief Thane Kurdran's willingness to join the alliance was enough. This was the outcome Sir Lothar most desired.
Khadgar knew Lothar well; he respectfully bowed to Kurdran, saying, "Thank you for the Wildhammer tribe's participation, but Chief Thane, our reinforcements haven't arrived yet. We need to hold Aerie Peak and buy time for Sir Lothar!"
As in previous battles, Alleria stood calmly near Leylin. Having not seen Leylin for a day, Alleria glanced at him frequently. Of course, there were occasional moments when Leylin and Alleria turned their foreheads and their eyes met.
The ranger captain always showed a hint of embarrassment. However, she concealed it well; with rangers and warriors around, she could only glare fiercely at Leylin to vent her small resentment.
"Lad, I think you need this." Kurdran walked past Leylin from behind and handed him a musket.
It was brought back by the dwarves from Grim Batol; back then, the dwarves didn't want to be so fragmented as they are now.
This wasn't like the muskets Leylin knew; they required loading gunpowder and pulling the trigger to fire. This musket wasn't even semi-automatic.
"Chief Thane, I don't need this; magic is enough for me." Leylin politely declined.
Kurdran frowned, lying prone beneath the boulder of the fortress platform. "Magic? We Wildhammer dwarves can also wield the power of nature, like lightning. I've never seen magic as powerful as our spells before?" Kurdran struck his lightning-infused storm hammer against the boulder.
Dwarven magic and elven magic were completely different. A magical force with a school of thought and an energy composition is a hundred times more powerful than the dwarves' use of nature magic.
"It's hard to say, but you'll see the power of a mage in a moment." Leylin said calmly.
Kurdran didn't mean to belittle mages; he was simply more confident in his control over the forces of nature.
Khadgar also walked to the platform of the fortress. Kurdran treated Khadgar with considerable respect, perhaps because Khadgar looked like an old man, which softened his tone.
"Mage, don't you need this?" Kurdran asked.
Khadgar shook his head and said, "No, I'm not used to using this. Magic is enough."
Kurdran waved his hand dismissively, tossing the musket to Doran Steelwing.
"Let me show you something." Leylin took out an arcane orb from his magical pouch. Unlike the arcane orbs Khadgar had seen in Karazhan and Dalaran, the orb in Leylin's hand shone with the light of the sun.
The blinding, scorching light gave Khadgar the impression that it resembled a sophisticated energy converter. Simply put, it was a miniature version of a magic cannon.
"How much arcane energy does it need to activate?" Khadgar asked bluntly.
Leylin made a helpless gesture. Leylin had previously analyzed activating this arcane orb would require massive amounts of arcane energy stored in his body.
Moreover, even with all of his arcane energy coursing through his body, he would still be drained by about half of his reserves activating this arcane orb.
"Be prepared to overdraw."
Khadgar's aged face twitched a few times as he and Leylin poured arcane energy into the orb.
"Prepare, my valiant warriors, smash these greenskins' heads!" Falstad commanded the Wildhammer dwarves scattered across the giant stone platforms of all the fortresses on Aerie Peak Mountain to open fire on the orcs attacking from below!
A series of musket shots rang out, striking the orcs' shields. These were old fogies, their muskets unused for centuries, barely scratching the orcs. Especially in the rain, many muskets misfired.
Kurdran simply tossed his musket aside, ignoring the heavy rain, and mounted his Sky'ree, charging out. He hurled his warhammer, the lightning-streaked hammer felling two orc soldiers before returning to his grasp.
Dal'rend Blackhand witnessed this and was enraged by the dwarf's solo attack. The dwarves were already cornered; their audacity in fighting alone was an insult not only to the Blackrock Clan's fighting prowess but to the entire Horde.
"Follow me! I'll deal with this arrogant dwarf!"